HomeMy WebLinkAbout2023-10-30 ad Hoc - Charter Review Committee Minutesa rctULIVLL)
Town of Reading TOWN CLERK h�
Meeting Minutes R ^.01NG. A.
4°°• 2323 NOV 15 AN I I: 35
Board - committee - Commission - Council:
Charter Review Committee
Date: 2023-10-30 Time: 7:00 PM
Building: Reading Town Hall
Address: 16 Lowell Street
Purpose: General Business
Attendees: Members - Present:
Location: Conference Room
Session: Open Session
Version: Final
Chair Chris Haley, Vice Chair Phil Pacino, Jesse Arnold, Jonathan Barnes
(remote), Geoff Beckwith, Bill Brown, Alan Foulds, Andrew Grimes
Members - Not Present:
Chuck Robinson
Others Present:
Town Clerk Laura Gemme, Assistant Town Manager Matt Kraunells
Minutes Respectfully Submitted By: Caitlin Saunders
Topics of Discussion
Haley noted Town Counsel sent in some comments that he will elaborate on when they getto each section.
The board started editing section 1 with Town Clerk Laura Gemme tracking changes on the Charter
document as they go along.
A change throughout the document will be to replace Board of Selectmen with Select Board. They will also
make all terms gender neutral throughout the document.
Jonathan Barnes made a comment about the'majority vote' term; in Section 4, specifically in regards to the
Historical Commission, he would like them to put a specific number of members instead of the current
wording.
The committee started editing Article 2. The board discussed the mention of 8 precincts in Article 2.1. The
Town is close to needing 9 precincts. Gemme noted the State says if you need to adjust to add a new
precinct in the future, it doesn't matter what your Charter says. Haley noted he will check with Town Counsel
to see if they should pursue this or not.
In Article 2.4, the group discussed the words'may'vs. 'shall'and which should be used.
Haley will ask Town Counsel for their opinion on 'local news medium' under the vacancies section of 2.6.
Minutes
The board discussed the previous meeting minutes.
Motion to approve the meeting minutes as written, second by Arnold. The motion passed with a unanimous
roll call vote.
Future Agendas
The neat meeting will be November W.
Motion to adjourn at 9:18 PM, second by Arnold. The motion passed with a unanimous roll call vote.
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